The Wu Family Garden (吳園) is one of the most interesting historic sites in Tainan, and from Minquan Road (民權路) the first glimpse of the site will be of the Tainan Public Hall (台南公會堂) building constructed of a Baroque style, and which blends on one side into the Day Break 18 Teahouse (十八卯茶屋) built in a Japanese wood structure style and which features on another side a classical flower garden built in a Chinese style.
Passing through Tang Te-chang Memorial Park(湯德章紀念公園), it’s hard to miss this special building with its high tower. It is the He Tong Building (Meaning joint office building) (合同廳舍) built in the Japanese Colonial Period; the Fire-View Tower(火見樓) completed in the 1930s was the tallest structure in downtown Tainan at the time and was extremely important as most of the other buildings were made of wood. It was used to look out for fires in downtown Tainan. The fire station has the oldest fireman’s pole in all Taiwan.
The Japanese Patriotic Women's Association(台南愛國婦人會館) was the main women's group during World War II. Its members were mainly women with social status and high levels of education. The group's purpose was to care about local construction and provide social services, and this place was its Southern branch. The hall was built in 1920 with typical mixed Japanese and Western style architecture. After the War, it was managed by the Red Cross Society, and served for a time as the Tainan headquarters of the Kuomintang(國民黨台南市黨部).
Upon entering Nanmen Park, as well as the well-preserved Great South Gate (大南門城) and cluster of steles on which various Tainan historical events are recorded, another must-see attraction is the Nanmen Film Archive which used to be the Tainan Broadcasting Bureau(原台南放送局). Completed in 1932, the building has a modern Western architectural style, its elegant appearance standing out amidst the old-time feel of the park.
The two big highlights of the Zhongzheng Road (中正路) and Zhongyi Road (忠義路) intersection are the Hayashi Department Store (林百貨), and the shrine-like Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行). During the Japanese Colonial Period, the bank was known as the Kangyo Bank of Japan (勸業銀行); “Kangyo” means promoting and awarding industries in Japanese. The external style of the bank is also quite unique, and it makes use of columns as if from Greek temples arranged on both sides.
The design and construction of the museum was a joint effort between architect Chao Yung Shih and Pritzker Award winning Shigeru Ban Architects. The main building was constructed as the Tainan Police Department in 1931. Sutejiro Umezawa, the chief engineer of Tainan County at the time, designed the Eclectic building in the Art Déco style and it is now a historic site of Tainan City. The fusion of new and old spaces at Building 1 now hosts the works of local artists in Tainan and those of important artists from other regions.
When the Japanese took control of Taiwan, they regarded it as an economic colony. At the time, water resources on the Chianan Plain (嘉南平原) were lacking and much of the land was left uncultivated. The farmers of the area also faced frequent droughts and floods. The Japanese formed the Public Chianan Irrigation Channel Cooperative Office(公共埤圳嘉南大圳組合事務所) to build the Chianan Irrigation Channel(嘉南大圳) and thus solve irrigation problem on the Chianan Plain. Originally located in Chiayi Street in Chiayi County, it moved to the prefectural office in Tainan in 1909.
The West Market (西市場) plays an important role in the collective memory of older Tainan residents, and it is situated in the public marketplace area on Ximen Road (西門路), which was established in 1905. People from Tainan commonly refer to it as the Wholesale Market (大菜市), and it was previously the largest food market in Southern Taiwan, with a long and established history. Originally it was constructed of wood, but the market has been through numerous renovations to reach its present appearance.
Located on Shennong Street(神農街), Jinhua Temple(金華府) was built in 1830, it is said by a man named Hsu of one of the five clans of the Five Channels, and it is also the guardian temple of the Xu family. It enshrines Guan Sheng Di Jun and two wangye (Royal Lords), Ma and Li. Not many temples have “fu”(mansion/palace) in their name like this one.
Mr. Yeh Shyr-Tao (葉石濤) was an important native writer in Taiwan. "This is a good place for people to dream, love, get married and leisurely pass the time." This sentence was Yeh Shyr-Tao's personal impression of his experience in Tainan City. The memorial hall has two floors, the first floor displays the literature of Tainan, introducing novels, essays and commentaries native to the area, and exhibiting the life, books, important works and manuscripts of Yeh Shyr-Tao.